Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, January 28. Also see the Weekly Democratic Address, on how “Democrats will stand our ground to protect the Affordable Care Act, because — as we, and many marchers believe — health care is the right of every American — not just the privileged few.”

Trump’s erratic first week was among the most alarming in history (“You will notice that my lament about the week is largely devoid of ideological content. That is not because his policy moves are not appalling — they are. But you don’t have to disagree with Trump’s policies to be rattled to the core by his unhinged behavior. Many congressional Republicans privately express concerns that range from apprehension to outright dread.”)

Stoney, Rhodes to lead regional collaborative effort (“The new mayor of Richmond and the longtime president of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College were named Friday to lead the Capital Region Collaborative, a group of local business and government leaders focused on ways to enhance the quality of life in the region.”)

Two more candidates running for McClellan’s former House seat (“Two additional candidates, a Libertarian and an independent, will appear on the ballot with Democratic nominee Jeff Bourne in a Feb. 7 special election for a vacant, Richmond-area seat in the House of Delegates.” Bourne should win easily in this overwhelmingly “blue” district.)

Lately, we have all been pushing through the cloud and smoke that is the hateful and divisive rhetoric coming from the Trump administration. Today’s executive orders on immigration is just one more unacceptable action and it’s only been a week.
The President’s immigration, so-called, agenda will only lead to separating and destroying families and ruining our relationship with our global neighbors and allies. The narrow-sighted action is contrary to our values that make this nation great.
I believe in the good that comes from diversity. I’m proud of all of those who still believe in spite of the recent actions that directly contradict our founding principles.. The executive actions today undermine exactly what is great about this country. We are at our best when we are a diverse body. For some unknowable reason, this administration, sadly, does not believe that.

“As the new Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Natural Resources, I find the president’s actions yesterday on the pipeline projects gravely concerning. I am not just worried about potential ecological and public health impacts of the proposed pipelines, although those concerns are real.

“Donald Trump owned stock in the company that is building the Dakota Access pipeline.
The American people don’t know whether he still owns that stock, because we don’t have complete disclosure on all his myriad businesses and he has not released his tax returns. Americans deserve transparency. Without that transparency, we have no way of knowing whether his actions could have financial benefits for him. Until he is transparent, Americans will be forced to wonder if the president’s economic interests are impacted, especially in this case when vital public health and environmental protections are undermined. I pledge to my colleagues and my constituents that I will keep asking these questions – and that I call on the president to produce the documentation that will resolve this part of the issue.”